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A Book Called Rats: Poems
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
September 29, 2016
Containing many dark themes, Miguel Murphy writes his poetry with a stark voice that makes for a refreshing read. Much of his work in A Book Called Rats is filled with blunt imagery that will make the reader read on in amazement. This collection transcends all poetry especially with unique subject matter, like the mute son who lives with three mythological sisters. Each stanza is so visually stimulating, it takes a moment to absorb. Because of this, one of the most defining characteristics in this collection is the narrative voice in each poem. A line that best portrays this is:
“I wish I could touch a thing and remember that I mattered
to the world. Instead, I sit in a little room at night
while my family is sleeping and the car
outside is still forgotten.”
Review by Dennise Garcia
“I wish I could touch a thing and remember that I mattered
to the world. Instead, I sit in a little room at night
while my family is sleeping and the car
outside is still forgotten.”
Review by Dennise Garcia
January 23, 2014
I know Miguel through mutual friends, and he also sent me some wonderful poems for
Superstition Review
. I have read this book before and I am revisiting it today as part of my writing practice.
I love the raw surprises in this book--the phrases that go opposite from what I expect. I’m also uniquely drawn to the characters--the sister, the lover, the mother, Old Man Ankles, who all do so much work to reflect the mindset of the speaker. We get deep emotion, yet the tone is never too heavy because there is levity in the exploration of language and in image and metaphor.
Some of my favorite moments:
“The trumpet is a mad
bitch in my heart.”
“the landscape of my orphanage.”
“my gone childhood”
“I stretch out
on a tongue that was night’s.”
“The opposite of a spider is a man.”
“Mother,
I need to know--which boy running
the empty street in you says such things?”
“Who knew two mouths were suicidal?”
“Walking the familiar
brown paper I call memory.”
“Dear wrecked lover, you wrecked me.”
I love the raw surprises in this book--the phrases that go opposite from what I expect. I’m also uniquely drawn to the characters--the sister, the lover, the mother, Old Man Ankles, who all do so much work to reflect the mindset of the speaker. We get deep emotion, yet the tone is never too heavy because there is levity in the exploration of language and in image and metaphor.
Some of my favorite moments:
“The trumpet is a mad
bitch in my heart.”
“the landscape of my orphanage.”
“my gone childhood”
“I stretch out
on a tongue that was night’s.”
“The opposite of a spider is a man.”
“Mother,
I need to know--which boy running
the empty street in you says such things?”
“Who knew two mouths were suicidal?”
“Walking the familiar
brown paper I call memory.”
“Dear wrecked lover, you wrecked me.”
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews